<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0My mother has always loved to sing and even at age 93, she is unhappy when her Troubadour singing group fails to meet. \u00a0The Troubadours are a group at her residence (Brookridge Heights in Marquette) that gather on Sundays to sing and on the occasions when they don\u2019t meet, she is always disappointed. \u00a0It isn\u2019t a big surprise to me that I have also liked to sing since I can remember. \u00a0If my mother wasn\u2019t singing in the church choir at St. Mark\u2019s she was singing along with records around the house. \u00a0With constant exposure to music, I was never shy about singing in elementary school programs or at Sunday school. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Even in seventh grade, I would sing along loudly during the semester long music class we took from the long time Messiah Lutheran Church choir director (and JH music teacher) Hildegarde Johnson. \u00a0Mrs. Johnson was well on in her years when I had her for seventh grade music in 1965-66 (she passed away on August 8, 2000 and her obituary showed that she held degrees from Northern Normal School dated 1920 and 1951), but she managed to get a bunch of squirrely seventh graders to sit and sing. \u00a0We actually alternated with art so one semester it was a two and three day split and the next semester a three and two day split between art and music, but it still added up to a semester of music. \u00a0The first day of class, we had to sing the Do-Re-Mi scale for her at which point she would say \u2018first soprano\u2019 or \u2018alto\u2019 to indicate which section we would be sitting in. \u00a0It was comical watching pre-voice change seventh grade boys trying to sing as low as they could so they could sit with the other guys in the more low voiced (which I assumed to them meant \u2018more manly\u2019) section. \u00a0She never fell for that. \u00a0I did my thing and got assigned to the \u2018second soprano\u2019 section which was split about half and half between girls and boys like me with higher pitched voices. \u00a0Ironically, even with my dad having a voice that registered at a pretty low scale, mine never did get much lower as I grew. \u00a0I am not sure I was holding out for the sonorous James Earl Jones type of range, but I didn\u2019t expect to remain at the Brad Delp (of Boston fame) end of the musical spectrum.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Being lucky enough to have a lot of opportunities to sing throughout my public school years, I went for it whenever we were asked to sing. \u00a0It never dawned on me that perhaps I didn\u2019t have the greatest voice. \u00a0Oh, I was loud enough, but I can only assume that I could also carry a tune. \u00a0As they say, everyone sounds good in their own head (or in the shower for that matter), and no one ever took me aside and said, \u201cAh hey, we like your enthusiasm, but could you tone it down a little so we can hear the other kids?\u201d \u00a0When I look back now, I can certainly see that there is a big difference between someone who sings and someone who has been trained how to sing.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This thought came to me after my wife and I saw Judy Collins perform at the Calumet Theater a couple of years ago. \u00a0Even in her seventies, Collin\u2019s voice is a remarkable instrument. \u00a0She pointed out that she had been a singer for a long time before she sought out a voice teacher to help her make better use of her voice. \u00a0These lessons gave her the tools to preserve her voice at an age when many singers can no longer hit those pesky high notes. \u00a0Not only can she still hit the high notes, she can do it without straining and with no wavering tones evident in her delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I know that I sometimes confused having a big voice (ie: \u00a0a loud voice) with being a good singer. \u00a0From the time I first started playing drums along with records in my quest to become a rock and roll drummer (also during my seventh grade year in school), I sang along. \u00a0I found that it helped me remember the arrangements and the stops, starts and turn arounds that happen in a song. By the time I was playing regularly with other musicians, I had been singing steadily for many years. \u00a0By the time I had stopped playing regularly in bands, I had been at it full time for over twenty years so my vocal cords and lungs were in sound shape. \u00a0\u00a0Looking back at how many mornings I woke up with a hoarse voice from the previous night\u2019s gig is a pretty good indication that I was not using proper techniques in my singing. \u00a0If I was courting a cold, I woke up some mornings with no voice at all. \u00a0Having strong vocal cords is great, but if you don\u2019t have the right technique, one can tax their voice to do some major, even permanent, damage.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Age is not a singer\u2019s best friend. \u00a0Perhaps if I had learned how to sing properly, I would be able survive warbling a few hymns on Sunday morning without my cords aching. \u00a0Rehearsing with the crew for the Easy Money Band\u2019s 40th Anniversary show (held at the Ontonagon Theater of Performing Arts a couple of years ago), I discovered I could no longer sing the Steve Miller Band songs any more. \u00a0I croaked my way through a couple of passes of \u201cRockin\u2019 Me\u201d and my voice was gone. \u00a0It is always a big disappointment to find out that one can\u2019t hit the high notes anymore. \u00a0As much as it pains me, I decided that my occasional fill in gigs with Easy Money would be drummer only gigs because my voice just won\u2019t hold up these days.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Even though I sang in all of my bands, I never thought of myself as a lead singer. \u00a0I was a drummer who happened to sing. \u00a0Along the way, it was nice a nice compliment to be introduced as \u201cour lead singer\u201d but it never made me want to put the drum sticks down and step out front. \u00a0There are a lot of famous singers who started out as drummers and the short list would include Frank Sinatra, James Brown, Mick Jagger, Phil Collins, Steve Perry, and even Steven Tyler, but I never had such illusions. \u00a0This does not mean I didn\u2019t like to show off my vocal chops, untrained or not.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We played a lot of Grand Funk Railroad tunes in The Twig and I liked them all. \u00a0One of our show piece songs was <\/span>Closer to Home\/I\u2019m Your Captain. \u00a0<\/span><\/i>There are a couple of tempo changes in this song and the last bridge that brings the tempo back up to speed happens before the iconic chorus and flute fade out. \u00a0There is a simple <\/span>\u2018Yeah, Yeah, Yeah\u2019 <\/span><\/i>vocal that plays out over the top as the band picks up speed. \u00a0\u00a0The more we played it, the longer I found myself holding out the last \u2018<\/span>Yeah\u2019<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0At some point, Mike the bass player would hold out his arm and look down at his watch as in \u201cReally? \u00a0Are you done yet?\u201d and if I really held on a long time, his eyebrows would arch up like he thought my head would explode.<\/span> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The greatest compliment I ever got was from my mother. \u00a0In that she got to hear every band I was in save Easy Money rehearse in our basement, she certainly heard us a lot. \u00a0Yes, she was probably a little biased, but she told me on several occasions that I should just sing all of the songs. \u00a0While it was flattering, it didn\u2019t compute because back then, I was still a drummer who sang, not a lead singer. \u00a0Today, I am content to be a drummer who used to sing.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One final note before I am accused of spelling \u201cvocal cord\u201d incorrectly: \u00a0some people erroneously write about \u201cvocal chords\u201d but \u00a0\u201cchord\u201d refers to the sounding of three or more notes as one hears them from a guitar, piano, or a vocal group like the Pentatonix. \u00a0My sources tell me that \u201ccord\u201d is the correct spelling in regard to discussing one\u2019s voice<\/span><\/p>\n Top Piece Video: \u00a0The rocking GFR performance of I’m Your Captain \/ Closer to Home from their fabled Shea Stadium concert – not the shaking of the bleachers – this would not have made me feel secure about the old stadium!